Leveraging Section 108 Rights: The Academic Libraries Video Trust
Session Descriptions, Wednesday, September 25cation
Preconference Sessions (Morning)
Copyright Boot Camp
Presented by Carla Myers
This 3-hour preconference session will provide attendees with an overview of the basics of U.S. copyright law, including how copyright is secured, works eligible for copyright protection, author’s rights, and the duration of copyright protection. We’ll also review exceptions found in U.S. copyright law that are frequently utilized by libraries and educational institutions, e.g. fair use.
Untangling the Consumer-Licensed Media Knot: Developing Better Strategies for Licensing Media on your Campus – and Across Librarianship
Presented by Will Cross, Kyle Courtney, Eric Harbeson, Sarah McCleskey, Carrie Russell, and Tucker Taylor
Libraries have traditionally relied on a suite of copyright exceptions to provide all types of media used by students, faculty, and the public. These exceptions are threatened by the rise of licensed digital materials and consumer-facing companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Steam that will not offer libraries a license at any price. How can libraries provide access, preserve culture, and save the public record in an era where we cannot lawfully acquire popular and scholarly media? This 3-hour hands-on workshop will introduce the consumer-licensed media knot and ask participants to share their own experiences, ideas, and strategies. We’ll start with a structured discussion introducing the many facets these issues, and then help you start thinking about solutions. Then you will delve into an area of your choice and develop a research question that could be the basis of a research or practice article. Each participant will be guided through the steps of developing a research question, framing that question in a way that is manageable and answerable, and finally drafting a model proposal for an article in a venue such as the Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarianship. If you don’t want to publish – no worries! This session can just be about learning. But if you are interested, the Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarianship will be publishing a special issue in 2020, and you will leave with a ready-made proposal you might choose to submit. Join us for a fun and active discussion about licensing and a deep dive into how we can work together as a community to make library copyright better.
Creative Commons: Understanding, Applying, and Teaching
Presented by Raven Lanier
Creative Commons is an incredibly important tool when it comes to sharing and reusing the copyrighted works of others, but it can also be difficult to understand. This 90 minute preconference session will cover why Creative Commons licenses are important, how they work within copyright law, best practices for applying and using Creative Commons licensed works, and how we can encourage our university communities to become part of the Creative Commons movement.
Case Law Discussion Group
Presented by Justin Bonfiglio and Jack Bernard
Justin Bonfiglio of the University of Michigan Library Copyright Office and Jack Bernard of the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel will lead a 75 minute discussion focused on a recent copyright case. For anyone interested in participating in the discussion, a set of readings will be shared with the group approximately one month in advance of the conference. Participants are encouraged to bring their own questions to the discussion — please come prepared for an active exchange!
Plenary Sessions (Afternoon)
How’d we get here? The Evolution of Copyright Law
Presented by Dwayne Buttler and Kenneth D. Crews
In the last 400 years we have seen a copyright statute named for a queen (it is said to have been her “Favourite”), followed by litigation over obsolete Betamax, finally culminating in bi-partisan quasi-protection for early pop music (we are indeed “Happy Together”). Would that be uphill progress or downhill disarray? Come to this insightful session, and look forward to leaving even more befuddled and perplexed.
Copyright Hot Topics with Jessica and Jack
Presented by Jack Bernard and Jessica Litman
In this conference session, presenters Jessica Litman and Jack Bernard will identify and address current trends and issues in copyright law.
Session Descriptions, Thursday, September 26ca
Breakout Session Descriptions (morning)
Do the Right Thing: Sustainability, Values, and Streaming Video
Presented by Erin DeWitt Miller and Sarah McCleskey
The scholarly video ecosystem is complex, with acquisition models that often conflict with libraries’ institutional values, and may be unsustainable for libraries’ budgets. There is no one-size-fits-all model for video acquisitions, no one perfect platform or vendor. Time-limited streaming licenses are convenient and less costly in the short term, but may conflict with libraries’ missions to build permanent collections. With repeated licensing, over a number of years the library will spend more than an outright purchase would have cost. Many libraries find the financial model of patron-driven acquisition to be unsustainable. Purchasing individual titles with life-of-file digital site licenses is economical but disrupts traditional workflows with additional steps (negotiation, purchase, download, upload to host, obtain caption file, etc.). A library would not acquire all print materials from a single vendor, and cannot expect that for video. Excellent content resides across an almost unlimited number of platforms. In this session, librarians who acquire video content discuss how libraries can work with platforms and distributors to employ acquisition models that are in line with institutional values, and are sustainable for institutional budgets. Audience participation is encouraged.
Offering Copyright Services: A Primer for New Copyright Librarians
Presented by Donna Ferullo
For those librarians who have recently taken on copyright librarian responsibilities, trying to determine how to launch a copyright education/consultation program and what services to offer can be a daunting task. In this session we’ll explore techniques for identifying those areas of US copyright law that may be of most interest to members of your campus community, techniques for offering copyright education, and effective ways to guide others in addressing copyright issues they encounter as part of teaching, research, and librarianship.
Understanding the Implied License Doctrine
Presented by Ana Enriquez
Implied licenses exist when there is no explicit copyright license but an intent to create a license can be inferred from the parties’ conduct (for example, when public webpage content is downloaded and displayed in a browser). Participants will learn about this doctrine and apply that knowledge to hypothetical scenarios involving libraries and their patrons. This session is designed for participants who are already familiar with the basics of copyright law, including fair use, the rights of the copyright holder, and licensing. Participants who are new to copyright are encouraged to review these concepts in advance of the session.
Foster the Light: Orphan works and Underrepresented Communities
Presented by Kiowa Hammons
Historically disadvantaged groups such as women, persons of color, and the LGBT community have often been underrepresented and overlooked creative communities. The effects of underrepresentation can be seen in the large swath of orphan works by these groups within the collections of many cultural institutions. This presentation will look at the reasons behind the phenomenon of orphan works by historically disadvantaged communities within cultural institutions; and explore ways in which libraries and museums can find a balance between intellectual property protections for creatives, while also allowing their patrons access to these important works.
The Black Box of Perpetual Access
Presented by Michelle Polchow
Peek into the black box of perpetual access for ebooks and ejournals, as this session ponders what ‘forever’ access to licensed resources means, both as intellectual property and technological access. Consider impact to scholarly research when licenses fail to detail preservation or publishers go out-of-business without a backup plan. Will researchers rely on the Way Back Machine to verify their scholarship? As unprecedented OA negotiations leave future subscriptions hanging in the balance, will retrospective access remain a certainty? Consider how Controlled Digital Lending and Occam’s reader might work for the public good. In these unsettling times, this discussion will examine how practical, economic and culturally responsive policies and practices might fit within the constraints and opportunities allowed under copyright.
Leveraging Section 108 Rights: The Academic Libraries Video Trust
Presented by Erin DeWitt Miller and Sarah McCleskey
The presenters will provide an overview of Section 108(c) of the Copyright Act, which addresses preservation of audiovisual material in library collections, as well as the Academic Libraries Video Trust (ALVT). Section 108 gives libraries the right to make replacement copies of audiovisual material that is damaged, deteriorating, lost, stolen, or on an obsolete format as long as the material is not available to purchase. Founded by the National Media Market, the ALVT is a shared repository for audiovisual material digitized under rights granted via Section 108 and is a crucial tool for addressing issues of preservation and access.
Intellectual Property (IP) Overview for Information Professionals and Educators
Presented by John Schlipp
For many individuals, IP is a mysterious legal topic which they believe only lawyers understand. This session is an overview and introduction of IP, and how it relates to both creators and consumers. The presentation also introduces the role of Patent & Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) libraries in providing additional IP support (beyond copyright) for you and your customers as creators or consumers of patents and trademarks.
Finding the Public Domain: Practical Rights Review for Mid-century Collections
Session Handout
Presented by Katie Zimmerman
This hands-on workshop will teach you how to assess whether works created in the 20th century are within their copyright term or are in the US public domain. Being able to confidently assess the public domain status of a work opens up many possibilities for digitization and reuse, but the legal framework involved can be complex. This session will walk through the legal principles involved, and provide practical tips and practice using free online resources available for assessing the rights status of your collection. This session is most useful for materials created in the 1920s-60s.
Lunch
Birds of a Feather Discussions: During lunch, conference attendees can choose to participate in facilitated discussions on a variety of copyright topics, including:
- Copyright and plagiarism, led by Ana Enriquez
- Copyright and online learning, led by Raven Lanier
- Copyright and the classroom, led by Tucker Taylor
- Copyright and art, led by Kiowa Hammons and Maryam Fakouri
- Copyright and OER, led by Sara Benson and Emilie Algenio
- Copyright and accessibility, led by Carrie Russell
If you are interested in participating in one of these discussions, make your way through the buffet line then find the table labeled with the discussion topic. Sit, eat, and enjoy the conversation!
Plenary Sessions (Afternoon)
Copyright Policy Making and Interpretation
Presented by Sara Benson, Kenneth D. Crews, Will Cross, and Maria Scheid
How do we help promote knowledge of US copyright law among our patrons and develop sound copyright policies that are flexible and adaptable to their needs but mitigate risk for our institutions? Our panel presenters will address various copyright scenarios librarians and educators may frequently encounter and provide recommendations and best practices for patron education and policy development.
U.S. Copyright Office Update
Presented by Chris Weston
In this session, Chris Weston, senior counsel in the Office of Policy and International Affairs of the U.S. Copyright Office, will provide an update on the U.S.C.O.’s work and initiatives.